Son of Gondor
by GreenGreatDragon
Summary: Faramir defends his brother's memory after realizing that many citizens of Gondor are thinking ill of Boromir. Basically what I myself say to people who don't like Boromir because he attacked Frodo.


Summary: Faramir defends his brother's memory after realizing that many citizens of Gondor are thinking ill of Boromir. Basically what I myself say to people who don't like Boromir because he attacked Frodo.

Faramir's POV

As the summary says, this is my own rant. Boromir has always been one of my favorite characters and I believe he is often misunderstood and cast in a bad light. And I looked it up (so that I could be sure I could label it book canon): Sam told Faramir that Boromir tried to take the ring from Frodo and they weren't behind closed doors or anything, so it is entirely possible that one of Faramir's men overheard the conversation and spread the story.

Please, pretty please, r&r, even if it's just 'i liked it' or 'i didn't like it'. Concrit is welcome and even encouraged as well!

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I have learned that there are some who think less of my brother than he deserves.

When conversing with Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee in Henneth Annun, I had given little thought to privacy, believing in the trustworthiness and descretion of all my men. In one at least of my soldiers this trust seems to have been misplaced, for I hear many speaking of Boromir's temptation by the Ring. They have taken to calling it, "The Downfall of Boromir," "Boromir's Bane," "The Greed of Boromir," and such. They praise me instead, saying that I withstood the same temptation but overcame it and did not fall prey to pride. I deserve no such praise.

Some may argue that this defense of my brother comes from a biased standpoint. Perhaps it does. But who else can say that he has seen Boromir as he truly was? No other has ever known my brother as well as I.

I shall endeavor to be as objective as possible. I wish his memory to be as great as he dreamed it would be.

Boromir was long the hope of our people. Our father directed Gondor's eyes to him and our people clung to his strength in the dark times, which were often.

Of course, the word "strength" has many meanings, so I should explain myself more fully.

His strength of personality came naturally to him; he was firstborn of the House of the Stewards of Gondor.

Physical strength also came easily to my brother; he was extremely skilled in battle.

Strength of character, however, chose a hard path to come to him by. Character, I have learned, comes from choices; making wrong choices, dealing with the consequences, and thus learning which are the correct choices and why they are so important. Boromir only ever had one road set in front of him: whichever one our father chose for him. Father cared less for my decisions in part because I, being secondborn, was truly less important to Gondor and in part because he simply cared less.

But upon Boromir fell all the responsibilities and expectations of his father and his country. And in our time none could afford for him to make an incorrect decision, much less a fatal one. The Enemy was ever watching, waiting for the smallest step to slip, the tiniest opening to be revealed, that he might exploit any weakness.

Boromir always did the right thing. Of course, he was not an ignorant thrall of our father, mindlessly obeying every command. My brother always knew what the wrong path would have been and the destination it led to. But this knowledge was theoretical, not practical, to him. He had never witnessed these consequences in action and so could not entirely grasp their full meanings.

Think of a very young child who is just learning what his boundaries are. The parent warns the child that his had will be swatted if he touches a priceless vase. The child knows what a swat is, that it brings pain, but he himself has perhaps never been swatted and thus is unfamiliar with such pain. He touches the vase, receives his aforementioned consequence, and never does so again because he does not wish to revisit the pain. My brother would have recieved the warning, then been removed from the presence of the vase.

Once he left for Imladris, Boromir was without our father's guidance. He knew enough to tell right from wrong on his own - he was not a fool - but there was no one to keep him from doing wrong. And simply remembering his teaching was enough, for a while. He was valiant above all and withstood the Ring's call longer than his limited experience would have allowed any other in that position.

Yes, attempting to take the Ring by force was a mistake. But it was the first mistake my brother made in his life.

Yes, it was fatal; of course it cannot be simply ignored. But Boromir did not see - had no way to see - how devastating it was until after it occurred.

He did repent. Like the battle-trained man he was, he fought to regain his honor and redeem himself, killing many foes until he could do so no longer. He fought to protect the kinsmen of the one he wronged, and he would have fought to protect Frodo as well, had he been there. Honor and bravery were ever at the forefront of his mind and actions, save this once.

Why cannot he be remembered for his dying actions, as all heroes are?

Why must we dwell on the single time he failed, especially when he purposefully laid down his life to compensate for his failure?

Boromir, son of Denethor, my brother in blood and in heart, deserves to live in Gondor's memory as the best and most valiant man. A man of prowess and greatness. A true Son of Gondor.

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So, there it is! Again, pleeeeeease review! Thanks for reading!


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